Cataloging: Day 10

Today's observations:
I took a break from cataloging today so that I could accompany Meredith to the very last Summer Reading event of 2016. I even helped, inasmuch as arranging fruit, crackers, and Capri Sun into neat rows is helping!

I think I can safely say that, while I enjoyed it, I am not suited to public librarianship. Meredith killed it, because she's awesome, and gave an appropriately short speech about the importance of reading and using the library. Then I got to see a political master in action. State Senator Terry C. Burton is President Pro Tempore of the Mississippi Senate, so I certainly have some serious ideological differences, but watching him was a lesson. He exudes charisma and can handle a crowd like no one's business. Additionally, he was instrumental in getting the local internet provider to supply quality internet connections to the three libraries in Newton County, one of which was still running at dial-up speed. Terry C. cares about his community - which is more than you can say about some politicians - and is aware of technological shortcomings across the state. He is rather intimidating looking, and reminds me a bit of Churchill, with the bald pate, lack of neck, and intense gaze.

Before the event Meredith and I stopped for lunch at Hibachi Japanese Express restaurant in Newton for carryout. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got reminded me of the "Chinese" food that we used to get at Randhurst back in the day. It wasn't quite chicken teriyaki (the sauce looked a bit more like thousand island dressing to me), but it was definitely reminiscent of the generic Asian food we would get at the mall back in the late 90s. Apparently the restaurant is the object of suspicion on the part of some locals, and Meredith pointed out that it was an odd decision on the founder's part to choose central Mississippi as the location for their new business.

Titles cataloged today: 10

Titles cataloged total: 530

Audio entertainment during the drive: The Final Rip Off - Monty Python; At the mountains of madness (audiobook from Hoopla!) - H.P. Lovecraft

New Southern discovery: This might be a rural thing, rather than a Southern thing, but there are long stretches of road where all the mailboxes are on the same side, regardless of which side the houses are on. It makes sense that a postal worker isn't going to be driving back and forth along the same long stretch of country road, but it's not something that I've encountered before.

Something I miss from California: Our couch. I know it's not super nice when it's hot (it's leather), but it is so comfortable. The sofa at the cabin seems to have lost some of its structural integrity, so sitting on it causes you to lean towards the front of it.